The Unreal Boyfriend Read online

  He chuckled. “At least there’s something—or someone—else to occupy her. You said she was always on your case for every little thing.”

  “That’s true. Lawrence seems to have made her relax and be somewhat more tolerable. I hope they’re not being too energetic, though. Mum’s heart is not one hundred percent.”

  Derek opened the passenger door of his car, then turned to cup Bernadette’s face. “Despite everything, I can tell you love your mother. And you’re being a great daughter to her.”

  Bernadette’s eyes moistened. “Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s good for me to keep on accepting her excuses. But there are times when she does show her love in her own way, just not in the traditional way a daughter would expect of a mother. I tell myself she hadn’t known much love when she was growing up, so she didn’t have good role models, unlike me, who felt so embraced by Paige and her parents. Anyway, she’s my mother. Somehow I feel responsible for her.”

  He kissed her softly. “Let’s get out of here and let me take care of you today.”

  Bernadette smiled. “Okay.”

  He gave her another hug before letting her get in the car. Right now, from where he was standing, all he wanted to do was make Bernadette happy.

  Then tomorrow night, he’d have dinner with her, June and June’s new boyfriend Lawrence. Funnily enough, he was actually looking forward to that.

  Chapter 6

  Bernadette sat on a stool by the island in Derek’s kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help?”

  “Nope,” Derek said, slicing some tomatoes for their salad. “You just sit there and relax. I told you I’ll take care of you this weekend.”

  Bernadette hid a smile. She liked the sound of that. It sent sexy thoughts to her head. And since she was staying with Derek tonight, more than a couple sexy times were in the cards. Hopefully.

  She started to feel a strong, delicious tingling in her private parts. It had been a long time since she’d been intimate with a man, and she couldn’t wait for her first time with Derek.

  But she had to be patient. Derek was clearly making a big effort with their lunch, so she better appreciate it. Besides, she’d like to think they’d need the energy. They had the whole weekend together.

  She crossed her legs. “So how else do you intend to take care of me today?” she asked coquettishly.

  Derek’s hand stilled from squeezing a lemon to look at her. “First, I’ll feed you. Then I’ll ask what you want to do next, and so on.”

  “So it’s all up to me?”

  Derek walked to her and placed a kiss on her lips. “That’s how I plan to take care of you today, babe.”

  Bernadette sighed. She was trying to be sexy, but she was so touched that she had to battle to stop her eyes from misting. “Are you really my boyfriend? My real boyfriend.”

  “Your one and only,” Derek said with a wink before going back to his task of fixing them lunch.

  “What if I want to stay inside all weekend?”

  “No problem. We have enough food to last us for days. I made sure.”

  “So you were expecting me to want to stay in for the whole weekend.”

  “A man can hope,” Derek said with a grin.

  She got off the stool and walked to his side of the island. “You better let me help you, then, so we can start lunch earlier.”

  Derek kissed her cheek, his lips lingering against her face. “Is it because you’re hungry for food or something else?”

  She let out a gasp. “You have a dirty mind, Mr. McCarthy.”

  “What do you mean?” Derek asked innocently, going back to his food preparation. “You could be hungry for…”

  “Yes?” she said teasingly.

  “A movie in my theatre room… or… a… shower because you’re hot.”

  She laughed.

  “I mean you’re hot as in you’re feeling sweaty—from the heat.”

  “It’s not even warm in here.”

  Derek lifted his shoulders. “I feel warm.”

  “Really? It’s a cold day today. Should I adjust the heater?”

  “No,” Derek said with a sigh.

  She stood behind him and curved her arms around his muscular torso. “Yes, I can’t wait for lunch to be over so we could cuddle inside the theatre room.”

  Derek made a small approving growl. “You can check the quiche, then.”

  She glanced at the oven. “Timer says ten minutes to go.”

  “Are you really hungry?”

  She chuckled, thrilled that he was being impatient. “I’m not going anywhere, Derek. I’ll be here till tomorrow, remember?” She dropped a kiss on his shoulder.

  Derek placed the knife down and turned around to face her. “If you want to eat soon, then stop distracting me.”

  “You don’t want me to help?”

  Instead of answering, Derek pulled her to him and kissed her.

  A hard something poked her belly. Whoa! He was already aroused. A moan escaped her throat as she tightened her arms around his neck.

  “Bern,” Derek murmured, his mouth travelling to her neck. “I’m burning for you.”

  She couldn’t help but giggle at his words. “Me, too,” she admitted.

  Derek lifted her from the floor, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “Eat later?” he asked, already carrying her out of the kitchen to somewhere.

  “Wait. Will your oven turn itself off?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, then.” She cupped his face and captured his lips.

  “Mm, I like that. But I can’t see where I’m going.”

  She kissed his jaw instead.

  “Open,” Derek said cryptically, angling them so she could reach the knob of the door leading to theatre room.

  She obeyed. “I thought we were going to your bedroom.”

  “Too far.” Derek placed her on one of the plush armchairs and pressed a button. The back started reclining and the footrest came up. “We should be comfortable enough here.”

  Her heart pounded hard as Derek crawled on top of her, and she revelled in the way his weight pinned her to the seat. When Derek slowly unzipped her dress, she stared at him. It was truly Derek McCarthy who was undressing her. Wow.

  Things as good as this didn’t usually happen to her. Her dreams and wishes hardly ever materialised. The fairy tales usually happened to someone else and never to Bernadette Luna.

  When her dress landed on the floor, she lay back on the recliner, pulling Derek along with her.

  Derek let out a sexy growl and went back for her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers as she ran her hands on his back.

  “I can’t believe I’m here with you,” Derek said as he proceeded to kiss her face.

  Her breath caught. “You can’t believe you’re here with me?”

  Derek reared up to look at her, smiling. “Why do you sound so disbelieving?”

  She chuckled. “Because I thought I was the one who’s been wanting you for ages. I know you noticed.”

  Derek inhaled deeply, burying his face in her neck as he placed soft kisses on her skin. “I did notice, but I thought you’d gotten over me. There you were, dating all those other guys.”

  “I’ve only dated two guys since I met you, and they were very short-lived relationships—if you can even call them relationships. Are you saying you’ve been interested in me for a while?”

  Derek didn’t answer. Instead, he kissed her mouth again.

  The movement of his lips were so gentle, so sweet, yet this kiss was just as potent as his devouring ones. She tightened her arms and legs around him.

  Derek seemed to have ignored her last question. Was he embarrassed that he’d become attracted to her while he’d been dating Holly?

  Her already galloping heart raced faster. Was she the reason Derek had broken up with Holly? It had crossed her mind, considering the timing of Derek’s split with his ex, but she hadn’t fully believed he’d ditch Holly Stirling for her.r />
  She inhaled deeply. The scent of his aftershave was accompanied by a pure masculine scent—the scent of arousal. And when Derek unclasped her bra, she shooed all thoughts from her head. This wasn’t the time to keep thinking. In fact, it was the time to—

  “Ah,” she gasped softly as Derek flicked a nipple with his fingers.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Derek murmured, dipping his head to lick the valley between her breasts before capturing a peak between his lips and laving it with his tongue.

  She moaned, her desire intensifying. Her hands restlessly roamed his head… arms… back. His shirt was in the way, so she grasped two fistfuls of material and tried to pull it over his head.

  Derek sat up and helped her. No sooner had his shirt hit the floor than he was back on top of her, caressing her body as he resumed kissing her face, neck, boobs—everywhere he could lay his lips on, it seemed.

  “Derek,” she heard herself say, lifting her hips to make contact with his. Oh, God. His erection had gotten bigger and harder. And her panties just got wetter.

  She kept her pelvis arched towards him, her crotch creating friction with his bulge.

  “Fuck,” Derek hissed. He began to crawl down her body.

  She moaned loudly, anticipating what he was going to do next. She was already so freaking turned on that any shyness she usually had in the bedroom hadn’t made an appearance.

  “I need to see all of you,” Derek said, hooking the band of her underwear with his fingers and dragging them down her hips.

  She bit her lip, heart pounding like mad as Derek pulled her panties from her legs.

  Derek kneeled on the floor, his lustful gaze raking her body while he breathed through his parted mouth.

  Bernadette gulped. She wasn’t used to being looked at like this by a man. Usually, she liked having sex with the lights off, perhaps to hide from her own depthless feelings for the guys she’d been with.

  But today, she hadn’t even thought of asking Derek to close the heavy drapes in his theatre room. He was making her forget the parts of her body that she was self-conscious about.

  And as sunlight streamed from the outside, she could only come up with one word to describe his expression. Enthralled.

  Did he really find her that sexy? That desirable? Seriously?

  Her eyes misted as she acknowledged they were exactly how he was making her feel. She blinked to get her eyes back to normal, then whispered words she meant with all her heart. “I’m all yours.”

  Derek met her gaze, his lips curving happily before taking on a hot, naughty look—one that told her he was going to take everything she was offering and enjoy every minute of it.

  “I want to see all of you, too,” she said.

  Derek inhaled sharply, standing up. “Wanna do the honours?”

  Oh, yes, she would! Grinning, she sat up. She reached for his belt and undid it as she stared at the bulge in front of her face. He had to be just as aroused as she was, and the thought sent fresh moisture to her core.

  But she was having a hard time unbuttoning his fly. She tried again, pulling him closer to get a better grip of the material. Finally, she managed to unzip him.

  Derek hissed. “God, this is so hot.”

  She giggled. “I’m being Miss Clumsy and you think it’s hot?”

  “Your face right there is so fucking hot,” Derek breathed.

  Ooh. “What, right here?” She brought her face closer to his crotch as she pulled down his jeans. Then with his boxer briefs still on, she kissed his impressive hard-on.

  “Fuck,” Derek gasped, taking off his denims.

  She bit back a smile. “You’re very sweary today. I don’t usually hear you say fuck.” She said the last word with all the sultriness she could muster.

  Derek chuckled. “Because that’s what you’re making me want to do.”

  She grabbed his hips and pulled him back to her. “I’m not done undressing you yet.”

  “You’re gonna torture me, aren’t you?”

  She pulled down his briefs and took his impressive erection in her hands. “You’re wrong.” Then she licked his length with one long movement of her tongue.

  Derek groaned, putting a gentle hand on her head.

  Loving his reaction, she gave him more of what she knew he wanted. With her fingers curled around the base of his shaft and tugging gently, she put the head in her mouth.

  “Bernie,” Derek whispered.

  She smiled at his tone and continued pleasuring him with her mouth. Then Derek pulled away from her.

  What? It hadn’t even been a minute.

  But the look on Derek’s face told her it wasn’t because he hadn’t enjoyed it. To the contrary, he was clearly more aroused, his gaze hot and his breathing heavy.

  “My turn,” he said, guiding her back onto the recliner.

  Without a word, she lay down. Her heartbeat was loud enough to talk on her behalf, she was sure.

  Derek parted her thighs and kissed the inside of one.

  She giggled. Damn it, this wasn’t the time to be ticklish! But she couldn’t help it. The back of her knees and the inside of thighs were among her most ticklish parts. “Sorry,” she said, smothering her chuckles.

  “Are you sensitive here?” Derek said teasingly, running the tips of fingers where his lips had just been—over and over.

  She laughed out loud. “Stop it.”

  “Does that mean I can’t kiss you here, ever?” Derek proceeded to give loud pecks on both her inner thighs.

  “De—rek, st—op!” she managed to say through her chortle.

  Derek sat up, chuckling. “Are you ticklish here, too?” He placed his fingers on her mound, and found her swollen nub.

  Her laughter immediately stopped, replaced by a gasp of pleasure.

  Derek’s lips curled. “Aha, sensitive here, but not ticklish. Good.” Then he dipped his head between her legs and let his tongue loose on her clit.

  This time, moans and loud gasps came out of her. Laughter forgotten, she opened her legs wider, letting Derek do whatever he pleased with her—or rather, encouraging him to give her more of the incredible pleasure he was giving.

  Soon, she was nearing the crest. “Derek,” she murmured, trying to shift her body to give him the signal she was about to come.

  Derek reared up and crawled up to her, kissing her body on the way. Then he stopped abruptly. “Oh, damn.”

  She stared at him.

  “Condoms are upstairs in my room. Looks like we have to make our way there, after all.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t mind revelling in this wondrous feeling of heightened arousal before Derek “took care of her”.

  Derek helped her up. When she was on her feet, she grabbed her dress from the floor.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Derek said in a teasing, but sexy tone.

  “Aren’t we going upstairs?”

  “Yes.”

  She blushed. “We’re going up naked? Wouldn’t the neighbours see us?”

  Derek laughed. “I doubt it. It’s bright outside, and they’re far enough away.”

  “Oh. Okay, then.”

  She followed him to the door. Wow, this was exciting. Kind of freeing, actually. She’d never casually walked around a house naked, not even in her own home. She started climbing the stairs and glanced back to see where Derek was.

  He was right behind her. “Good view from here,” he said with a naughty grin.

  She laughed, and swayed her hips alluringly as she resumed her steps. Suddenly, her back was against his front as he embraced her from behind.

  Derek kissed her neck, his hand snaking over to the apex between her legs.

  She gasped.

  “You’re so hot,” Derek breathed, his finger rubbing her clit, then dipping inside her wet core.

  “Derek…” She grabbed the handrail with one hand to keep her balance and reached behind her with the other. She found his erection and caressed it.

  Derek gave her shoul
der a gentle bite before easing his finger out of her. “Let’s go,” he said brusquely.

  They continued their journey to his bedroom, almost running this time. They got there and kissed each other fervently, toppling onto his bed.

  Derek left her briefly to put on a condom, and was back in no time. “Ready?” he asked as he positioned himself on top of her.

  She smiled. “Yes.”

  Derek ran the head of his cock against her nub before pushing into her slowly.

  Soon she was ready for more. She captured his mouth with hers as she spread her legs wider, giving him more access.

  Over and over, Derek moved inside of her, groaning and grunting. And over and over, she gasped out her pleasure, which continued to spiral higher and higher to heights she’d never experienced before.

  Then she was trembling. “Derek!” Her voice was hoarse as her body contracted repeatedly around Derek’s thrusting shaft, the strength of her orgasm stunning her.

  “Bernie… fuck,” Derek moaned, driving into her faster until he yelled out loud and heaved hard as he came inside of her.

  Bernadette stared at the ceiling as Derek rested on top of her. To say that this was the best sex of her life was an understatement. For the first time, she realised what it was like to make love to a man she was truly, head-over-heels in love with. She prayed this was the beginning of forever.

  A phone rang in the background, breaking the spell.

  Chapter 7

  Derek swore silently at his ringing phone, then at himself. Why had he put the ringer on, when he knew Bernadette was staying with him this weekend?

  “Ignore it,” he said, kissing her neck. He was too comfortable and sated to want to leave Bernie’s arms.

  “It’s your phone, not mine,” she said with a chuckle as she caressed her back with soft hands.

  “You were amazing.”

  “So were you.”

  “When do you want to do it again?”

  Bernadette laughed. “You’re still inside me.”

  “And I’d love to stay in here longer, but I better get rid of this condom.” He reluctantly pulled out of her and went to the bathroom. His phone rang again.